Left opposes PM’s stand on financial reforms
New Delhi, October 10
The Left parties today opposed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in London about the government’s intent of moving ahead with financial sector reforms and in defence of special economic zones.

Brother alleges Kanshi Ram was killed
New Delhi, October 10
Dalbara Singh, brother of late Kanshi Ram, today lodged a complaint with the police alleging that his brother was killed by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati as part of a ‘conspiracy’.

An SU-30 and a Mirage 2000 of the Indian Air Force fly with a Tornado aircraft of the Royal Air Force during the Indo-UK joint air exercise in Gwalior on Tuesday. —
PTI

Cong: FIR against George not politically motivatedNew Delhi, October 10The Congress today officially distanced itself from the CBI’s move to file an FIR against former Defence Minister George Fernandes and his associate Jaya Jaitley for irregularities in arms purchases but the Capital’s overactive political grapevine was abuzz with speculation that the “Barak missile investigation was a counter to the Bofors case.”

PM’s continuation in office challenged
New Delhi, October 10
A petition challenging the continuation of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, in the office has been moved in the Supreme Court, raising certain questions on his Rajya Sabha membership under the provision of Article 183(1) of the Constitution.

Banning child labour, rendering kids unemployedNew Delhi, October 10Tuesday, October 10 was meant to gift Raju a new lease of life, freeing him from the bonds of child labour. But this 13-year-old who has been working, as an apprentice at an auto repair shop was more apprehensive than happy.

Varun has ‘bright future’ in BJP
New Delhi, October 10
Denying media reports about an opposition to young Varun Gandhi being fielded from the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in the party, the Bharatiya Janata Party today said that his services would be used appropriately.

Widows meet Kalam, oppose clemency for Afzal
New Delhi, October 10
Widows of security men who died in the Parliament attack today met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to plead against mercy for Mohammad Afzal who faces execution in connection with the 2001 terror strike.

’93 blasts: 3 fishermen convicted
Mumbai, October 10
The special courts set up under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act to hear the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case have held three fishermen guilty of allowing their trawlers to be used by the bombers to ship in RDX and other explosives.

SC: no excess breeding in zoosLegal Correspondent
New Delhi, October 9The Supreme Court yesterday directed different zoos in the country to follow the captive breeding guidelines issued by the Central Zoo Authority
(CZA) in letter and spirit to avoid crowding due to over-breeding of certain species in
captivity. The direction was issued by a Bench, headed by Chief Justice Y. K. Sabharwal on a petition by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which in a petition drew court’s attention to the ill treatment of wild animals due to crowding in the zoo.

Videos

India says North
Korean nuke test will lead to arms proliferation.(56k)

New Delhi, October 10
The Left parties today opposed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement in London about the government’s intent of moving ahead with financial sector reforms and in defence of special economic zones (SEZs).

The Left leaders said the financial sector in the name of greater resource mobilisation is targetting “ wrong sources.” Listing the financial sector as a high priority, the Prime
Minister had exuded confidence of getting political support on financial sector reforms, including banking, insurance and pensions.

CPI(M) Polit buro member Sitaram Yechury said the Left parties would oppose any increase in the FDI limit in insurance, which has a cap of 26 per cent.

Permitting foreign banks to take over Indian private banks would prove disastrous as the social objectives sought to be achieved through the Indian banking system would remain unfulfilled. Besides, economic sovereignty could be jeopradised, Mr Yechury said.

CPI general secretary A B Bardhan said the move to further open up the financial sector, including the pension funds, would lead to loot and plunder by the MNCs.

“I would like to remind the Prime Minister of his oft quoted
statement emphasising that economic reforms would be carried out with a human face. His latest assertions on economic reforms are in contrast to his earlier stand” Mr Bardhan said.

The Prime Minister had also remarked that SEZs were here to stay, but issues like a fair compensation to oustees need to be settled.

In sharp reaction to Dr Manmohan Singh’s remark on the SEZs, CPI National Secretary Shamim Faizi and Forward Bloc leader G Devrajan said the government would have to limit their number and that only 50 per cent of the allocated land should be used for industrial and trade purposes.

Mr Yechury said the Left had consistently been seeking amendments to the law which permits the setting up of SEZs. “The first such rules regarding takeover of prime
agricultural land without fair compensation to the farmers will not be allowed.”

New Delhi, October 10
Dalbara Singh, brother of late Kanshi Ram, today lodged a complaint with the police alleging that his brother was killed by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati as part of a ‘conspiracy’.

According to the complaint lodged in Tughlak Road police station here, Dalbara Singh alleged that Mayawati along with her associates killed Kanshi Ram on October 8 at her official residence, 11, Humayun Road, as part of a conspiracy.

However, the BSP denied the allegations saying that the late party supremo in his will as also on many occasions had made it clear that he had nothing to do with his family.

Kanshi Ram had renounced his family long ago when he launched the Bahujan movement. He had vowed not to have any family and has also renounced his close relatives,” BSP spokesperson Sudhir Goel said.

Mr Goel said BSP chief Mayawati had served her mentor and party founder with sincerity and dedication, particularly during his long days of ailments.

“Such complaints by his relatives are nothing but efforts for petty gains. They are playing in the hands of those opposition parties, which always opposed his mission,” he said.

New Delhi, October 10
The Congress today officially distanced itself from the CBI’s move to file an FIR against former Defence Minister George Fernandes and his associate Jaya Jaitley for irregularities in arms purchases but the Capital’s overactive political grapevine was abuzz with speculation that the “Barak missile investigation was a counter to the Bofors case.”

“An official agency is doing its work. As a political party, the Congress has no comment to offer on today’s developments,” AICC media chairperson Janardan Dwivedi told mediapersons while firmly rejecting Mr Fernandes’ charge that the CBI action was the “handiwork” of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Mr Dwivedi also refused to comment on the CBI raids at the residence of Mr Arvind Khanna, Congress MLA from Sangrur and said the party would await the investigating agency’s report.

Despite the Congress’ official stance, the longstanding personal animosity between Mr Fernandes and Ms Sonia Gandhi is legendary. Mr Fernandes was the prime mover of the campaign against Rajiv Gandhi on the Bofors kickbacks case while his opposition to Ms Sonia Gandhi acquired an extra edge after the former Prime Minister’s death.

It is well-known that it was Mr Fernandes who had persuaded Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav not to support Ms Gandhi’s candidature as the Prime Minister after the NDA government was toppled in 1999.

Ms Gandhi got an opportunity to hit back at the former Defence Minister following the tehelka sting operation when the Congress pressed for Mr Fernandes’ resignation and even boycotted him in Parliament.

Once the Congress-led UPA government came to power, the CBI began investigations into cases against Mr Fernandes and several defence officials on the basis of a CAG report, which had pointed to irregularities in arms purchases totalling Rs 2,200 crore. The Congress had launched a campaign against the NDA government in general and Mr Fernandes in particular during the Lok Sabha polls on this issue and had promised speedy
investigations if voted to power. It is also no coincidence that Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee had met the Congress President just two days ago.

Congress leaders, however, brushed aside suggestions that today development was a case of “political vendetta”, stating that the party had nothing to gain from discrediting Mr Fernandes who, they said, is already isolated by his own Samata Party colleagues and “has no political or ideological credibility”.

New Delhi, October 10
A petition challenging the continuation of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, in the office has been moved in the Supreme Court, raising certain questions on his Rajya Sabha membership under the provision of Article 183(1) of the Constitution.

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former Uttar Pradesh MLC R. S. Sanwal, who claims himself to be a Gandhian, has raised the issue of the retirement of one-thirds MPs of the Rajya Sabha every two years as provided under Article 183(1) and the rules framed thereunder, according to which Dr Singh’s membership should have ended on April 2 last.

The petitioner said the rule required that biennially retiring members had to be put in three groups to facilitate the retirement of nearly one-thirds MPs and in doing so it was not necessary that every member should complete the term of six year as provided under the Constitution and the membership of Dr Singh also fell in this category.

According to the PIL, if the rule of clubbing the retiring members in three groups was followed in letter and spirit of the Article 183(1) and the rules under it, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam on June 15, 2001, “ought to have retired from the Council of States on April 2.”

As Article 75(5) provides that the Prime Minister or a minister could legally hold the office for the next six months even after the expiry of his membership of the either House of Parliament, that condition in Dr Singh’s case was also over on October 2, the petitioner said.

Since Dr Singh’s Rajya Sabha membership under Article 83(1) and the rules framed under sub-section 2 of Section 154 of the Representation of People Act (RPA) has already ended “his continuance as Prime Minister is in violation of the provisions of Article 75(5),” the PIL claimed.

New Delhi, October 10
Tuesday, October 10 was meant to gift Raju a new lease of life, freeing him from the bonds of child labour. But this 13-year-old who has been working, as an apprentice at an auto repair shop was more apprehensive than happy.

A major contributor to the family’s meagre source of income, he is worried about keeping the kitchen fires burning. The law banning child labour that was enforced from today, says Raju, has compounded his worries.

Try telling him that the government intends to protect his childhood so that he can go to school instead of the garage and he is not convinced. “They threw me out of school when we couldn’t pay the fees, so I started work at 11, today after I mastered the work and was doing well, they have thrown me out of my job,” he says, idling at the garage where he can no longer work.

His employer at a fairly big repair shop in south Delhi cannot help chipping in. “These guys were honestly earning their living. The government thinks it knows the best…we can only comply,” he says, adding immediately, “…but I will not hire anyone under 14”.

While the government is eulogising its move to ban child labour, activists are worried that in the absence of a proper rehabilitation plan and strict surveillance most of these children will continue to suffer.

“The intentions are good, but there has to be a proper law and there has to be effective surveillance that it is not being flouted. We want education for the children and rehabilitation for the parents. Because rehabilitation means care and protection, it does not include education,” says advocate Ashok Agarwal, convener of the NGO Social Jurist who is fighting a case for a complete ban on child labour across the country.

Mr Agrawal on whose complaint nine boys between 10 and 13 were rescued from embroidery factories in the Capital on October 6, said, “there is a need to have stringent laws and effective networking amongst states to ensure that children from smaller towns are not lured to work as domestic labour or in factories in bigger cities”.

Even international human rights organisations have urged the government to ensure counselling support for former child labourers and provide them shelter.

New Delhi, October 10
Denying media reports about an opposition to young Varun Gandhi being fielded from the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat in the party, the Bharatiya Janata Party today said that his services would be used appropriately.

Asked about the party’s plans for Mr Varun Gandhi who was not given a party ticket, party senior leader M. Venkaiah Naidu said there was no opposition from the Madhya Pradesh unit. They simply wanted “someone local” to be fielded and the national leadership complied with their wish.

“Varun Gandhi, the sole member of the Nehru-Indira Gandhi family in the BJP, is a youngster with a bright future ahead for him in the party and no one should see this as an end. We have good use for him and will certainly want his services for the party”, he said.

Mr Varun Gandhi, the son of the BJP MP from
Pilibhit, Ms Maneka Gandhi, was the choice of the two BJP stalwarts - Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr L. K. Advani- for the October 30 byelection from
Vidisha, but the party’s Central Election Committee instead finalised the name of Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Minister Rampal Singh.

New Delhi, October 10
Widows of security men who died in the Parliament attack today met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to plead against mercy for Mohammad Afzal who faces execution in connection with the 2001 terror strike.

A woman who was part of the delegation told mediapersons that they sought severe punishment for Guru and that if one terrorist is spared, 100,000 more will come up.

Seven women, who lost their husbands in the Parliament attack, were part of an 11-member group that petitioned to Kalam that Afzal deserved no clemency and that there should be a fixed time limit for the council of ministers to give advice to the President on mercy petitions.

“We told the President that no politician should be allowed to give a decision on mercy petitions. In this case especially, let there by a final decision by December 13,” All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) chief M.S. Bitta, who led the group, said, referring to the upcoming anniversary of the Parliament attack.

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh has advised the Congress to stick to the path of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who went ahead with the hanging of Mohammad Maqbool Butt, and adopt the same principle in the case of Mohammad Afzal, convicted by the Supreme Court for waging a war against the state.
— TNS

Mumbai, October 10
The special courts set up under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities Act to hear the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case have held three fishermen guilty of allowing their trawlers to be used by the bombers to ship in RDX and other explosives.

The three — Yeshwant Nagu Bhoinkar, Abbas Dawood Shaikhdare and Shahjahan Ibrahim Shaikhdare — were found guilty under Section 111 of the Customs Act for transporting goods to a location that was not port-notified under the law.

However, charges against them under TADA were quashed, as the three did not have knowledge that the consignment contained RDX and arms.

The court also acquitted two other accused — Moinuddin Cheruvatam and Ismail Patel — of being part of the conspiracy and sending people to Pakistan for training.